Chapter 118
Chapter 118 – Fierce Battle (8)
‘Is this really enough?’
Those fighting on the ground were likely battling with everything they had, but from my vantage point above, I couldn’t help but think this way.
Perhaps because we had built the wall in advance, the Bugs had to climb over it no matter what tactics they had learned.
In the meantime, our forces unleashed firepower that shredded them. We might not have machine guns or cannons, but we had arrows that pierced through their bodies and magic that caused explosions.
Some of them attempted long-range attacks with spikes using bio-gas, but those were in the minority.
To keep our one-sided assault going, our side prioritized sniping those few.
“Are we really going to win this easily?”
My anxious heart was gradually turning to hope. Minimizing damage was definitely a good thing. Plus, we could upgrade the defense turrets in real-time to increase firepower further.
The most resilient and gigantic Bugs were already dying before they could reach us; if we kept upgrading like this, our defenses would only grow stronger.
‘The magic is also doing well.’
It wasn’t only the defense turrets that were firing off power. Now that we had gathered a good number of Mages, they were also unleashing skills they had learned and taking down multiple enemies at once.
Rasen’s Grand Magic was already being activated. It seemed the Bugs were starting to show their limits; if things could go on without unexpected variables, victory was inevitable.
“Ugh, do they really have a hidden card up their sleeve?”
But if we could stop them this easily, we wouldn’t be keeping such a vigilant watch, nor would they have sent countless troops to test the waters until now.
[Crack in Space Occurs]
“—!”
While everyone was fighting desperately close to the wall, a spatial crack began to form in the rear. A sporadic single-use crack appearing like that was troubling, and it happened to show up right now.
Watching the residents panic in fear, I was convinced that this crack hadn’t appeared by coincidence; it was a calculated move.
Even though such sporadic cracks had a limited number of enemies appearing at once, they could certainly disable our defense line. It was clear they were using a hidden tactic to turn the tide.
‘We can’t waver.’
I was too afraid to turn the defensive turrets around in case the front lines were pushed back.
Using the chainsaw I had been saving, I quickly sent some of the troops back to respond and watched the residents. They may have been inexperienced, but they didn’t crumble completely.
“These crafty bastards.”
Seeing the startled residents, I clicked my tongue at the enemy’s trick. While we had seen many of these sporadic cracks, none had ever appeared directly within our fortress walls before.
As a result, we had unconsciously lowered our guard against those infiltrating directly inside. Whether the enemy was truly targeting this or not, it was evident that they had intentionally opened cracks outside the fortress until now.
*
“This can’t be! They, they’re infiltrating inside the fortress!”
“What!? Did they break through!?”
“They broke through!?”
At the moment everyone was unified and looking forward, the screams from the rear created enough chaos.
A small ripple quickly turned into a massive turmoil. We were fighting fiercely with the swarming monsters before us, and the knowledge that they were appearing behind us meant that there had to be a breach somewhere.
“Everyone, calm down. It’s only a few that have appeared, like before!”
Rakur, his face pale, desperately tried to reassure the troops. However, regardless, the chaos could never settle until the Bugs appearing from the rear were dealt with.
“Rasen! Use your magic! And Leak, block the ones that appeared from behind with the nearby soldiers.”
Rakur judged that something was needed to fix the soldiers’ unwavering gazes. A massive magic circle opening in the sky and enemies being annihilated by it would be the best way to attract attention.
Upon hearing his urgent voice, Rasen turned toward the battlefield, held his staff, and promptly cast magic.
“Oooh!”
Rihar, not far away, gasped in admiration. What had seemed an absurdly unreasonable Grand Magic when it had been used against them was now an immensely powerful force. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of enemies were burning up from being struck by fiery arrows and dying on the sizzling ground.
“Focus on what’s in front of you! More are coming!”
“Ugh.”
Unlike before, Rihar couldn’t just keep watching Rasen’s magic. Enormous monsters were climbing over the wall right in front of him, ready to chop them down with their sharp jaws.
Seeing a Glitch with a face as big as his body sticking its head out, Rihar hurriedly shot a fireball at it, blowing its head clean off.
But that was just the beginning; Rihar quickly gasped for air as he hurried to prepare his next spell.
“Damn these idiots.”
“What, what’s wrong!?”
Just then, someone suddenly smacked Rihar on the back. It was a soldier holding a spear, chastising him for getting distracted by Rasen’s magic.
Now that I looked closely, I recognized Rihar’s face. It belonged to the same person who had been nagging him next to Rasen.
“Stop shooting wastefully and aim your magic at those far away. That’s how we’ll kill one more.”
“What about the ones climbing up here!?”
“We can handle those ourselves!”
He shouted at Rihar while swooshing his spear to pierce the head of a Glitch that was climbing up.
Rihar was left speechless as he looked at the back that had blocked him.
‘What kind of war is this?’
Even Rihar, who had climbed an elite course and earned recognition for his skills, had tons of experience. He had suppressed rebels within the kingdom and fought against raiders at the borders.
Yet this war he was experiencing was unlike any he knew. The Bugs that came flooding in weren’t like any standard enemy.
No matter how many times they died or were injured, they crawled forward, stepping across their comrade’s corpses, like monsters of obsession and madness.
What terrified Rihar was that these monsters seemed to have no emotions, as if it was natural for them.
As though ripping apart another living being that breathed and thrived on this land was as ordinary as drinking water or eating food. To such creatures, notions of mercy or dialogue were nonexistent.
“R, Rihar!”
“Draw more power! We must hold them!”
Rihar continued to rally the other Mages with his staff, raining down his most powerful magic on the swarming monsters below the wall.
Although the end wasn’t in sight at the moment, obtaining that sight was indispensable.
‘Can we hold? We should be able to, right?’
As the fierce battle unfolded, Rakur glanced back. Some of the troops he had dispatched were managing to deal with the enemies that appeared from the rear from the cracks.
It had shaken, but thanks to Rasen’s Grand Magic and the quickly rallied front-line soldiers, the wall remained solid.
Even now, countless defense turrets were continuously unleashing firepower as if they didn’t know the meaning of overload.
For an unexpected variable, it was a relatively successful defense.
“The situation looks good. The rear is about to be cleared, and since the front hasn’t broken yet, if we keep this up, they’ll all die first.”
“Don’t get too relaxed.”
Rakur, clenching his spear, shook his head at the reactions of those around him who were beginning to feel relieved, all because he was resolved not to let his guard down against these unusual creatures.
‘Is this really all they’ve got? Just a few dozen dropping through a space?’
However, being human, Rakur couldn’t help but wonder. If there were no more hidden tricks from the Bugs, then perhaps they had succeeded in countering and could consider themselves victorious.
“Push!”
“Look, more than half of them are dead. We’re winning!”
The atmosphere even reached those fighting on the front lines; they could sense it too. This lifted morale, and they resisted even more fiercely.
The Bugs, barely enduring the ruthless bombardments of the defense turrets, climbed the castle wall only to be skewered by the swords, spears, and axes of the warriors and soldiers guarding the top.
‘At least they’re stabilizing, right?’
Rihar, safeguarding his allies with magic, sensed that atmosphere. The Mana Barrier he cast deflected the sharp thorns shot from below.
“This is pretty useful. Not even a scratch.”
“Don’t let your guard down too much.”
Thanks to the barrier Rihar provided, he avoided injuries, smiling as he retrieved his spear dripping with the enemy’s bodily fluids. Even as his stamina was depleting, he found himself chuckling at the sight.
Fighting for their lives, they were synchronizing more and more.
“We have to be almost done!”
With the shield surrounding him, the good mood was contagious as he gathered his remaining strength, flicking his spear toward a Glitch that was climbing the wall.
“…Huh?”
However, this time, the Glitch that would usually get instantly skewered by the spear dodged it. It simply moved its head aside to evade.
In shock, Rihar widened his eyes. Instinctively trying to retrieve the spear, he realized he couldn’t.
“T-this bastard grabbed it?”
The Glitch moved one of its front legs to hold onto the spear. But that leg looked rather unique compared to others; unlike the typical split Ant foot, this one had four fingers it could move freely.
‘It stood up?’
At that moment, Rihar realized this one was fundamentally different from the others. Holding onto his spear, this grotesque monster straightened its body on the wall, standing upright like a human, glaring at him with glowing red eyes peering through the gaps of its black armor.
“Ugh, aaah!”
Feeling an instinctual terror, he stumbled backward while raising the spear.
Simultaneously, the creature that had been holding his spear released its grip, leaping up onto the wall.
“Oh, no!”
During that process, Rihar gaped in horror as he saw his barrier shatter in an instant.
In one fluid motion, the creature leaped onto the wall, its feet splattering with blood as it rose over the sliced-up corpse beneath it.
